A client of ours recently tested adding the McAfee Secure badge to their persistent checkout area (the mini shopping cart area that shows up on all pages) and ran a site-wide A/B test. They found that simply adding the badge actually decreased conversions by 1.6%.

We’ve also seen results showing that generic security badges created by the retailer can have similar positive effect as third-party paid services.

Please don’t think that we’re against security services. We’re fans of any service that helps your customers minimize anxiety and increases your conversion rate. If tests show that the badges help, then you can easily do the math on whether to subscribe. In any case, before you blindly pay for security or Trust symbols, ask them to allow you to test the conversion rate improvement!

What do you think?
Have you seen test results of security badges? We’d like to hear from you. Please add your comment below.

What do you think as a shopper? Do security badges make you feel more secure or does it raise security questions you wouldn’t otherwise worry about?

If I do any kind of shopping online, I would like to see this kind of security badge only at the last page or where I make the payment. If it follows me through out the pages, it would def make me rethink about this site. Why should they keep saying they are secured, weren't they were secured earlier?